Paws across Stratford-upon-Avon

We recently spent a day exploring Stratford-upon-Avon with Elsa. Best known for being associated with William Shakespeare, this historic British market town also has a number of dog friendly venues and activities to enjoy.

After wandering through the market we headed down to the river. We were very pleased when we saw a number of dogs enjoying themselves onboard various different boats, as well as relaxing on the riverbanks.

Avon Boating operate 40 minute river cruises and dogs can ride on the boats for free! As it was such a hot day we decided this would be a good alternative to a traditional rowing boat and luckily we were just in time for the next departure.

We were able to sit right at the back of the boat so we had a great viewpoint for the cruise. Elsa was quite happy watching the world go by with the wind in her hair!

Once we were back on dry land we spent some time relaxing on the grass nearby where there were many tourists, families and dogs enjoying the sunshine.

We continued exploring the town and, although we didn’t come across any shops catering to dogs specifically, when it came to choosing somewhere dog friendly to stop for a drink and bite to eat we were spoilt for choice!

The Old Thatch Tavern on the corner of Rother street and Windsor Street

The Marina Restaurant based at the Marina near Bridgefoot

The One Elm on Guild Street

The Henley Street tea rooms on Henley Street

The Encore on the corner of Waterside and Bridge Street- they allow dogs downstairs in the bar area but not upstairs in the restaurant, although the menu is the same in both areas.

The Garrick Inn on High Street is one of Statford-upon-Avon’s oldest buildings. This pub has a rich history and is said to be haunted!

Unfortunately, as it was such a busy day, there was ‘no room at the inn’ for us so we decided to see what Keys & Kitchen was like, having seen their facebook page prior to our visit. We were very pleased that we stopped here, particularly as we were greeted by the resident pups almost immediately!

Shakespeare’s Birthplace – although not dog friendly, we still enjoyed the proximity of this historic site and beautiful building.

The gardens are partly visible from the street.

Of course we couldn’t resist when we saw this prop… although Elsa didn’t seem too impressed!

As we continued across town Elsa enjoyed meeting some of the locals…

Overall we had a lovely and relaxing day, this is somewhere we will visit again with Elsa!

About the Author

Kelly graduated from university with a Ba (Hons) in Journalism, but fate took her down a different career path… until a little furry muse came into her life and she discovered blogging as a creative outlet to share her love of writing, photography, travel and dogs!